Monday, April 18, 2011

Matters of the Heart(s)

Hey friends. First things first ... we're OK! Many of you have seen the reports of our scary weekend here in North Carolina and have checked in over the past few days. Our neighborhood took a hard hit, but our home did not suffer any damage. Many of our friends and neighbors are not able to say the same, though. Please keep our state close in prayer as folks are mourning the loss of their loved ones, and their homes.

That aside, I want to tell y'all about a few things going on in the CHD community. I have met many amazing women on this journey, and a few of them have gotten together to create Sisters by Heart. Please check out their video and, if you feel led, support their mission!

Speaking of HLHS, sweet Charlotte and her family will be traveling to Duke this week for Charlotte's third (read: final!!!) heart surgery! Although Ethan's surgical needs are quite different, I still get so stinking excited when our HLHS friends go in for this last surgery. Charlotte's mom, Jenn, has been "Counting Down to Pink" on her blog, and I used this as my prime opportunity to buy Ethan a new pink polo for the spring/summer! Although I sound light-hearted, this is still heart surgery, and I would appreciate all of you lifting up Charlotte and her family (mom: Jenn, dad: Tim, big brother: Sam) in prayer this week. Her surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Finally, on a personal note, Ethan has a cardiology check-up on Thursday of this week. This is the appointment that was supposed to be made six months out from his last one, but Dr. I felt the need to bring Ethan back in three. He will mainly be measuring the pressure gradient where Ethan's conduit is sewn into his pulmonary artery. It was in the mid-to-upper 70s in January, and a reading of 90mmHg or higher will require some sort of intervention. Y'all, it's very likely we're already there.

I'm not going to play the "what if" game, but I will ask you to pray for God's peace to surround all three of us on Thursday. Ethan has become increasingly wary of people messing with him, and has not allowed us to easily perform his monthly pacemaker call-ins. I borrowed an idea from fellow heart mom, Jesse, and got some EKG stickers from Dr. I's office last week. I hope that doing some pretend play this week will lessen his anxiety come Thursday.

So, that's all I have for now. I got word earlier this afternoon that our power has been restored, so I'll upload pictures of the tornado craziness once we get back home and settled!

Hi Joye, Glad you are all doing well after the crazy weather. I will be keeping Ethan in my prayers both for good results and that he doesn't feel so anxious during his appointment. Will also be looking for your update. HUGS!